Many readers will have fond memories of the cinema in Magdalen Street, Oxford, which has closed after nearly 100 years.

Courting couples, I am told, used to scramble to get the back seats although, I hasten to add, I have no personal knowledge of that!

The picture above was taken at a civic occasion in 1964 when the cinema was known as the Super.

READ MORE: Odeon cinema will show final film

The Lord Mayor, Alderman J N L Baker, and his deputy, Alderman Alec Parker, and their wives were guests at the premiere of the film, How the West was Won.

The picture right dates from 1978 when cinema staff and journalists took part in a 30-mile walk, raising more than £200 for autistic children.

The walk began at the ABC cinema in Reading and ended at the Magdalen Street cinema, by then also named ABC.

The walkers were, left to right, John Gilman, John Veale, Malcolm Bickley, Peter Bradley, Vic Belcher and Howard Bryant.

Mr Bickley was cinema manager, Mr Bryant was cinema projectionist, Mr Belcher was husband of cinema cashier Cathy Belcher, Mr Veale was the Oxford Mail film reviewer, and Mr Bradley was film columnist for the Abingdon Herald.

First home at the end of the walk was Mr Bradley, who admitted cheating a little by running part of the way.

More creditable was the achievement of Mr Veale, the oldest competitor by 14 years, who walked 26 miles, despite suffering from angina.

Mr Gilman raised the most cash - £81. The two journalists finished bottom of the sponsorship league, confessing: “Film critics don’t have many friends.”

When they finished the walk, there was still more work for three of the walkers to do.

Within an hour, Mr Bickley, refreshed and changed, was on stage to compere the finals of the cinema’s grand talent contest – another charity fundraising event – and Mr Veale and Mr Bradley were two of the judges.

The contest, in aid of the Radcliffe Infirmary’s intensive care unit, was won by guitarist Robert Johns, of Oxford.

The cinema opened on January 1, 1924 with Rudolph Valentino in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The auditorium had seating for 1,300 – 950 in the stalls and 350 in the circle.

It was named Super in 1931 when the Union Cinemas chain took over. Later, it had a number of owners, numerous changes, including the removal of the circle, and different titles, among them ABC, Cannon, MGM and latterly Odeon.

The Odeon Odeon announced the closure of the cinema last month saying the complex is “no longer viable” admitting it was a “difficult decision”.

The last screenings at the venue will be films The Boogeyman and Sisu both starting at 7pm on Sunday, July 4.

The Grade II listed building was built by renowned theatre constructors Frank Matcham & Company.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

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